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UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Two things wouldn't surprise me i.e. UNH goalie situation for 2018: Clark returns (less likely a scenario) and UNH seeks to bring in a new goalie...Think about it; even IF Clark returns it's going to be his last season. They need someone to back up Robinson long term...
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

NCAA watcher said:
UNH does not take transfers. It apparently reflects a weakness on the part of the player not to stick out their original commitment.



That would be crazy. Clark, as a Canadian and a presumptive starter, probably has a decent chunk of scholarship money. They barely play Clark now, and so for his likely scholarship rate, having a 4 game a year backup is a complete waste of money.
And on that topic, where is all the scholarship money? Robinson was recruited as a third string in-State kid, so probably a half scholarship kid at most.

The third fourth and fifth lines are all marginal scholarship kids, save for Fregona and Crookshank, probably decent money, and MacAdams probably a half sort of kid. On D, Dawson, Verrier, Boyd and Green are marginal scholarship kids, with Green perhaps the most, and Verrier and Dawson late adds so maybe 1 for 4 kids.

So with all those partials, they should have two to three fuller scholarship kids available. That's why I'm thinking they get a larger scholarship goalie. Maybe they're holding off for a month so Co-Coach Lassonde can make the final call? ;)
Click to expand...

I'm with you - I'm just resigned to the fact that they are OK with where they are in net. They've been aware of the possibility of a 2018-19 Robinson/Clark tandem for years and have shown absolutely no urgency in pursuing another goaltender. I think recent ice time for both Clark and Robinson was an opportunity to view and evaluate the two moving forward. Both played well enough. We'll see if they continue to be a part of the goalie rotation - or if one good weekend from Tirone has Umile sniffing a miraculous finish. You know he doesn't care about next season's goalie rotation.

I think they've always considered Robinson (big, draft-pick, potential) the long term starter. If that's the case, I'm not sure they'd be interested in rushing to fill the back-up role when they have a guy in Clark who is willing to warm the bench, be a good teammate and keep his mouth shut. It would certainly behove the team to add a second starting calibre goalie - and, you kow, create competition - but that hasn't been their MO in years. They're more likely, in my opinion, to add a goalie for 2019-20 and get back on a two-year rotation.

If they do look to add a goalie this fall - and Zhukov does in fact verbal to UW - they should target Berdin. He's 14-6-2 with a 2.53 GAA and a .924 save-percentage for a mediocre Sioux Falls team that has been one of the worst defensive clubs in the USHL's Western Conference. When he's out, the back-up has managed only a 3.08 GAA and a .901 save-percentage. He is big, he is athletic, he has seen a lot of rubber and he has been very good. Tomak has also had a solid season - and if they're going to reconsider transfers I'd much rather take a chance on the guy who never got an opportunity at North Dakota than the guy (Jurisuk) who was horrible (.889 SPCT in 50 GP) at Wisconsin...

IMO, what they really need are a few more D to replace Gildon/Maass upon early departure (the current D recruits are essentially Chanter, Boyd, Furgele and Dawson all over again) and a number of forwards capable of possessing the puck and scoring goals. I've already broken down the 'goal-scoring' in the pipeline. So, if they spend the money in those areas instead, I'll be fine with it...
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

JB said:
Can we get this kid?

There is so much to do with his name...

How are his goals distributed?

Throw the Poisson, it a goal.
Click to expand...

Sure they can! Poisson is a '99 from Vancouver and turns 18 in August - he has scored at every level and in every situation. He currently has nine PP goals, three SH goals and eight even strength tallies. Here is the breakdown of his BCHL scoring this season...

http://bchl.ca/stats/player/4226/32/ben-poisson

Perhaps UNH's best bet to get Poisson (or Levi Glasman) might be to move on these kids early and bring them to Durham as 18 year old freshmen. Moving early on kids with potential could give them the advantage they need (over larger schools or more recently successful programs) to get back to being competitive in Hockey East. Similar to how they nabbed Maass while the MN schools wanted to see more production in juniors before offering. The number one rule in marketing is to be first! UNH needs to be the first to offer these top-kids and the first to give them a chance to play in college. That's the ticket back to relevance. Here is more information on both...

Poisson - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=339373
Glasman - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=282405

I'd rather see UNH stick with their two goalies for next year and spend the money on forwards. And instead, add Poisson as an 18 year old and grabbing and older experienced Filip Suchy ('97 / Czech Republic) out of the USHL to this year's class. Suchy has 35 goals in 77 career USHL games (20 this season). He has been a big time scorer in his age group for the Czechs. If they pick up Glassman, a top-pair defenseman (Austin Chorney) and a goaltender (Berdin - unless they can fit him into 2018 with the new F's) to the 2019 recruiting class maybe they're in business. There would still be A LOT of work on future classes left to do, but it might be enough to put UNH back on track.

Suchy - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=215541
Berdin - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=312197
Chorney - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=299746

Next year is still likely to be a tough one, but you can look ahead to the fall of 2020 and suddenly you have three scoring lines and a solid, strong-skating fourth line up front. Defensively they're Ok with a really strong top-pair and a nice goaltending tandem...

BVR (SR) - Blackburn (SR) - Grasso (SR/JR)
[Poisson] (SO) - Crookshank (SO) - Kelleher (JR)
[Glasman] (FR) - [Suchy] (SO) - Fregona (SR)
MacAdams (JR) - Pierson (FR) - Esposito (SO) / Stevenson (FR)
Sacco (SR) - Sato (JR) - Cippollone (SO)

Wyse (SR) - Maass (JR)
Green (SO) - [Chorney] (FR)
Verrier (SO) - McElhaney (FR)
Bahn (FR) - Nonis (SR)

Robinson (JR) / [Berdin] (FR-SO)
Lazzaro (SO)

This team might be pretty good and certainly better than any team since the last tournament run with Goumas/Downing/Desmith. It gives them a nice foundation to build on - with Stutzle (stud), Wazny (potential) and Sweeney (solid bottom six) potentially arriving the following year. The real need would then be defense - as Wyse would graduate and Maass becomes a flight-risk.

An actual fix for UNH Hockey may not be too far off or too difficult to find - but has this staff shown the ability to implement the fix or attract this type of commitment in bulk? No, not really. Its more likely UNH ends up with more Espositos/Sweeneys/MacAdams than lands any of Poisson, Glasman, Suchy, Chorney or Berdin. But its fun to be Charlie Brown and pretend the football is actually going to be there this time...

---

Another F possibility for next season - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=272303
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Dan said:
Sure they can! Poisson is a '99 from Vancouver and turns 18 in August - he has scored at every level and in every situation. He currently has nine PP goals, three SH goals and eight even strength tallies. Here is the breakdown of his BCHL scoring this season...

http://bchl.ca/stats/player/4226/32/ben-poisson

Perhaps UNH's best bet to get Poisson (or Levi Glasman) might be to move on these kids early and bring them to Durham as 18 year old freshmen. Moving early on kids with potential could give them the advantage they need (over larger schools or more recently successful programs) to get back to being competitive in Hockey East. Similar to how they nabbed Maass while the MN schools wanted to see more production in juniors before offering. The number one rule in marketing is to be first! UNH needs to be the first to offer these top-kids and the first to give them a chance to play in college. That's the ticket back to relevance. Here is more information on both...

Poisson - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=339373
Glasman - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=282405

I'd rather see UNH stick with their two goalies for next year and spend the money on forwards. And instead, add Poisson as an 18 year old and grabbing and older experienced Filip Suchy ('97 / Czech Republic) out of the USHL to this year's class. Suchy has 35 goals in 77 career USHL games (20 this season). He has been a big time scorer in his age group for the Czechs. If they pick up Glassman, a top-pair defenseman (Austin Chorney) and a goaltender (Berdin - unless they can fit him into 2018 with the new F's) to the 2019 recruiting class maybe they're in business. There would still be A LOT of work on future classes left to do, but it might be enough to put UNH back on track.

Suchy - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=215541
Berdin - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=312197
Chorney - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=299746

Next year is still likely to be a tough one, but you can look ahead to the fall of 2020 and suddenly you have three scoring lines and a solid, strong-skating fourth line up front. Defensively they're Ok with a really strong top-pair and a nice goaltending tandem...

BVR (SR) - Blackburn (SR) - Grasso (SR/JR)
[Poisson] (SO) - Crookshank (SO) - Kelleher (JR)
[Glasman] (FR) - [Suchy] (SO) - Fregona (SR)
MacAdams (JR) - Pierson (FR) - Esposito (SO) / Stevenson (FR)
Sacco (SR) - Sato (JR) - Cippollone (SO)

Wyse (SR) - Maass (JR)
Green (SO) - [Chorney] (FR)
Verrier (SO) - McElhaney (FR)
Bahn (FR) - Nonis (SR)

Robinson (JR) / [Berdin] (FR-SO)
Lazzaro (SO)

This team might be pretty good and certainly better than any team since the last tournament run with Goumas/Downing/Desmith. It gives them a nice foundation to build on - with Stutzle (stud), Wazny (potential) and Sweeney (solid bottom six) potentially arriving the following year. The real need would then be defense - as Wyse would graduate and Maass becomes a flight-risk.

An actual fix for UNH Hockey may not be too far off or too difficult to find - but has this staff shown the ability to implement the fix or attract this type of commitment in bulk? No, not really. Its more likely UNH ends up with more Espositos/Sweeneys/MacAdams than lands any of Poisson, Glasman, Suchy, Chorney or Berdin. But its fun to be Charlie Brown and pretend the football is actually going to be there this time...

---

Another F possibility for next season - http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=272303
Click to expand...

Dan
I'm not sure what you do for a living but would you consider an assistant coaching position at a school here in the east? I would offer you the head coaching position but it is not open.
How can you find "potential" out there where others don't seem to be able to identify them? I'm sure that it would not be as easy as making 5 phone calls but.......
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

After the Whistle said:
Dan
I'm not sure what you do for a living but would you consider an assistant coaching position at a school here in the east? I would offer you the head coaching position but it is not open.
How can you find "potential" out there where others don't seem to be able to identify them? I'm sure that it would not be as easy as making 5 phone calls but.......
Click to expand...
Just to be difficult, what are their GPAs? Have they met other admission requirements? Do they have interest in UNH?
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

After the Whistle said:
Dan
I'm not sure what you do for a living but would you consider an assistant coaching position at a school here in the east? I would offer you the head coaching position but it is not open.
How can you find "potential" out there where others don't seem to be able to identify them? I'm sure that it would not be as easy as making 5 phone calls but.......
Click to expand...

I have lived this actual life for years - just in a different sport. I love it. A lot of coaches hate it. Many (Umile) view recruiting as a necessary evil and would much rather spend their time developing and coaching the players in their program over the course of the season. The best coaches realize that they only way you can develop anything worth while is to have great ingredients and take recruiting especially seriously. Its why Umile really hasn't been the best role model for Souza over the last three years. I bet you Umile DESPISES recruiting 14-16 year olds. Perhaps with good reason, but that's the game. Souza would have been better served being around someone like McCloskey every day...

Anyone with a passion for the program and willingness to spend the time scouring the Heisenberg spreadsheet, Jr. league stat lines, scouting reports, every NCAA Watcher post and youtube could come up with a list of names with a lot of potential. It helps that I have friends in NCAA hockey and the USHL who tell me who they like. I also live within a (long) drive of Tri-Cities and have a cousin who goes to vet school in Des Moines. So I see some of these USHL kids each year. Mainly, I just enjoy doing it. I've always loved the aspect of team building. Its not for everyone. I also essentially grew up on the UNH campus and I am desperate (like everyone else here) to see the program turn it around. So, I'm always looking at ways that might actually happen...

I'm not going to pretend I could do a better job than Souza and whoever UNH hires next summer (as far as bottom line, who's in the program), but I know that when I recruit I do so with relentless energy and passion, I work my *** off, I am on the road all the time and I love the job. I have always been fortunate to fully believe in the schools, coaches, players and program I'm selling. That belief is SO important. Not everyone has it and you can't fake it. UNH needs that type of recruiter. Its who McCloskey was. Its why Jerry York (still all over the road at his age) has had so much success at BC. Simply identifying talent is a third of the job - at most (so posting names on this board is the easy part).

I look at the slow pace of recruiting at UNH since Souza's arrival, and its hard not to wonder if he is, or can ever be, that kind of guy. You just have to think you'd have seen more results by now. Watcher touches on it all the time - new coaches usually explode onto the scene. The alternative is he does all this but simply cannot close and neither scenario is a good one. That's where my frustration comes from. This year is over. Next year is probably not much better. Give me something to dream on in the near future!

That said, I'm sure there are a number of guys on their recruiting lists that could be difference makers. Maybe even some of the guys I mention (Poisson is from the same Hockey Academy as Crookshank). Maybe guys I've never heard of. We'll have to wait and see if they're right and if they can land them. Its a zero sum game. In the meantime, I like to day dream about who those guys might be...

-----

As to Darius' point...

A) One phone call/email to the player or coach for transcripts. I don't believe the UNH academics make recruiting hard argument in the first-place. That said, the VAST majority of potential hockey recruits are solid to better students and UNH better be alerting prospects and coaches from the minute they join the midget ranks about their foreign language (or any other specific) requirements. Not doing so would be recruiting malpractice. I rattled off the six names on the top of my list. There are plenty more.
B) That's the job. Create interest. Being first can be huge here.
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Darius said:
Just to be difficult, what are their GPAs? Have they met other admission requirements? Do they have interest in UNH?
Click to expand...

My sub point exactly, as you and Dan point out. Dan has nicely explained the process for an successful recruitment effort (in any field of endeavor) and how it can only be successful with hard work and dedication plus a strong subset of associated skills.
Thanks Dan it is good to know that there is still some talent out there.
 
After the Whistle said:
My sub point exactly, as you and Dan point out. Dan has nicely explained the process for an successful recruitment effort (in any field of endeavor) and how it can only be successful with hard work and dedication plus a strong subset of associated skills.
Thanks Dan it is good to know that there is still some talent out there.
Click to expand...

Yes, there is still talent out there. They haven't been great so far - but what could save them is college hockey's unique recruiting schedule. Suchy is a '97 who is available late in recruiting process because he's a European and has only been in NA for two years. Glasman and Poisson (99s) are guys they could take as true freshmen. So between late bloomer types and going a year early on other kids they could do well for themselves despite missing on the first choice types.

That said, they really need to get more aggressive on committing kids soon. Otherwise, you can't help but worry that they're OK rolling with what they have now. And that won't be good enough...
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

At the coach's show tonight Stewie was the guest along with my pic for next year's Capt 😉 Vela) and he mentioned he had been in the Maritimes. Seems to me he was up there last year? Who would be of interest there?
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

HockeyRef said:
At the coach's show tonight Stewie was the guest along with my pic for next year's Capt 😉 Vela) and he mentioned he had been in the Maritimes. Seems to me he was up there last year? Who would be of interest there?
Click to expand...

A trip to the Maritimes probably means 'young, future' type recruits - in other words, not immediate help. Hopefully, it means real talent either way...
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

HockeyRef said:
At the coach's show tonight Stewie was the guest along with my pic for next year's Capt 😉 Vela) and he mentioned he had been in the Maritimes.
Click to expand...

top Quebec draft prospect tourney was in Halifax in mid January. Tons of scouts
http://icejam.ca/page.php?page_id=52399

Seems to me he was up there last year? Who would be of interest there?
Click to expand...

Souza was up there in late 2015, but came up empty.
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Dan said:
Commits to CC.

How can we possibly expect UNH to compete with the tiny DIII athletic departments of the world, their dated and dreary off-campus arenas, their stricter academic standards, their gigantic price tags and their horrendous recent histories!!
Click to expand...

You forgot to add the lack of player 'lounges', weight rooms that rival Gold's Gym, pristine locker rooms with the team's logo plastered in the middle, larger than life!!! :rolleyes: Oh, oh and a world class college education, to boot! I mean, what else could a player want?!?
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Neutral Zone scouting report, from 2017 CJHL Prospects Game, on #UNHCommit Ty Taylor (Catches Left, 6-3/201 Vernon Vipers, BCHL) 7-5-1999
Rated 4 Stars
“Taylor is a big goalie who covers a lot of net, plays sharp angles and absorbs the puck giving him solid rebound control. He started for Delta last year putting up an impressive .941 SV% and has been able to make a smooth transition to the BCHL where he has a .907 SV% and 3.01 GAA. Here he faced 11 shots and let in 9 of them, neither of which were soft goals. He has good body control and athleticism and did a nice job of holding his posts and never getting out of position. He’s the only goalie here who was ranked in NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings where he sits 24th among North American goalies.”
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

C-H-C said:
Neutral Zone scouting report, from 2017 CJHL Prospects Game, on #UNHCommit Ty Taylor (Catches Left, 6-3/201 Vernon Vipers, BCHL) 7-5-1999
Rated 4 Stars
“Taylor is a big goalie who covers a lot of net, plays sharp angles and absorbs the puck giving him solid rebound control. He started for Delta last year putting up an impressive .941 SV% and has been able to make a smooth transition to the BCHL where he has a .907 SV% and 3.01 GAA. Here he faced 11 shots and let in 9 of them, neither of which were soft goals. He has good body control and athleticism and did a nice job of holding his posts and never getting out of position. He’s the only goalie here who was ranked in NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings where he sits 24th among North American goalies.”
Click to expand...

Think I saw him (pretty sure) at the 'Whitt last weekend. Very exciting!! Any idea when he's coming in?? I believe he wears #35 if I'm not mistaken...which, will be available...;)
 
Taylor is a nice grab - he's playing very well on a very good team. Watcher mentioned him earlier as a possibility. We'll see if he's right again and Taylor comes this fall.

He won't turn 19 until July so it could go either way, but UNH may want to do everything they can to get him into school ASAP. His MJ rights were traded from Prince George to Portland on January 10. Though the main piece was Dennis Cholowski, a transaction like this indicates Portland is probably very interested in taking a run at Taylor...

I wouldn't take a chance in sending him back to JRs. If Taylor comes next year that is likely the end of Adam Clark's career at UNH...
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Ty Taylor (21-4-3) is the top goalie in the BCHL in win percentage (.75), goals aganst average (1.82), save percentage (.932), and shutouts (7). His goalie coach with the Vernon Vipers is former UNH goalie Sean Matile.
 
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